Am I right for this forum?

 

mahgister

12,409 posts

04-13-2024 at 02:56pm 

Why suspecting the OP of trolling ?
 

the way the OP is written, the follow up system pictures that don’t align with the info provided originally, the meaningless, as far as context is concerned, mention of millercarbon, the claims of feeling alienated, the mention of million dollar system in a million a million dollar dedicated structure…the whole thing smells like trolling. It’s designed to cause a stir. And he accomplished it by the way. Deserves a credit for putting this together so masterfully, no doubt. 
May be I’m overthinking this, or you just haven’t cracked the shell yet, @mahgister 

Wow. I had not anticipated that posting my Virtual System would result in accusations of being a troll. If grislybutter had read the (admittedly excessively long) narrative, he'd know that the many speakers in the photos were mostly borrowed, and those I own were bought used for a song from friends. As mahgister correctly points out, the quote of "$3,000" applies to my main system, which is very clearly laid out in that same narrative. Don't we all take whatever opportunity we can to compare what we already have to what might perhaps take our systems up a notch? Am I a "troll" because I have friends who are also fond of audio equipment and are willing to loan me things to try in my own home? As the kids say: whatever.

As for looking for "sympathy," the word means something like "fellow feeling" (in German, "mitgefühl," literally "feeling-with"). I'm not looking for pity! I'm wondering if others on this forum find themselves conflicted by the tension that surely exists between a love of music, and a love of music reproduction (that is, a love of the technology that makes listening to recorded music such a close approximation of hearing it live). Several have made comparisons to their love of performance cars—another thing I get. But the same tension is evident there. Do you love your car because of its 0-60 time, or it's Nurburgring standing, or because you actually drive it to its limit yourself, and appreciate viscerally what the numbers signify? The latter is analogous to a love of music, the former to (pure) audiophilia. 

So, since my motives for this post have been questioned, let me clarify. I do love audio equipment for its own sake. I have for more than 50 years. But...the equipment is ultimately a tool that enables us to hear great music with as little compromise as possible. Speaking for myself, I feel I often lose sight of that; worse, that this site encourages loosing sight of that. So maybe I don't belong here—even though I do love audio equipment in its own right.

This has, in any case, been an interesting experiment in communication. Once again, thank you to those who have been generous and welcoming, despite my reservations and the possible ambiguity of my motives. 

I think you had overthought all this...😁

But i am very "naive" in public contact i concede this as a fact and my unability to catch subtleties in English speech... But i only gave my opinion for the sake of an audiogon good social health.. 😊

And i prefer to welcome people than suspecting them... It is my nature ... a defect in some case i concede it ...

the way the OP is written, the follow up system pictures that don’t align with the info provided originally, the meaningless, as far as context is concerned, mention of millercarbon, the claims of feeling alienated, the mention of million dollar system in a million a million dollar dedicated structure…the whole thing smells like trolling. It’s designed to cause a stir. And he accomplished it by the way. Deserves a credit for putting this together so masterfully, no doubt.
May be I’m overthinking this, or you just haven’t cracked the shell yet, @mahgister

I hope you will participate because we need informed people and you appear one...

Then not only i welcome you but i hope for more exhanges...

We are not all defiant people... Trust is basic in human communication ..

By the way i beat you... My system is balanced and cost me 1000 bucks ( heavily modified though ) 😉

So, since my motives for this post have been questioned, let me clarify. I do love audio equipment for its own sake. I have for more than 50 years. But...the equipment is ultimately a tool that enables us to hear great music with as little compromise as possible. Speaking for myself, I feel I often lose sight of that; worse, that this site encourages loosing sight of that. So maybe I don’t belong here—even though I do love audio equipment in its own right.

The above was posted before I had a chance to read the response from audphile1. Yes, you are "overthinking this" if you think my post was "designed to cause a stir" or smells of trolling. I've just explained how the "follow up pictures" DO, in fact, align with what I'd originally said. I'm fortunate to have friends that share this audiophile passion, and who have been generous both in loaning me things and selling me things. My "reference system" cost me less than $3,000. That's a fact. I'm sorry if you have not been so successful in your system building.

The take-away for me from this attempt to engage in a frank conversation about our supposedly common audio passion has more, sadly, to do with the contentious nature of dialog these days than it does with the specific topic.

Oh, and about millercarbon. He was something of a troll, I'll grant. Arrogant, in your face—but well-informed, articulate, and helpful with particular problems if one contacted him privately. His posts, infuriating as they often were (and that Einstein thumbnail was just puerile), were almost always interesting and informative. And witty. He was the main reason I joined this forum, even though we almost never agreed. For what it's worth, that's what I think genuine dialog should be: the ability to appreciate someone with radically different politics and worldview than one's own, and to engage productively with such a person in constructive exchanges of ideas anyway.